Back in February, we told you about an atheist family in Massachusetts that has been engaged in a legal battleto have “under God” removed from the Pledge of Allegiance. In a press release sent out on Monday morning, the American Humanist Association announced that the Middlesex Superior Court ruled against the family. According to the statement, the atheist parents are already planning an appeal.

As The Blaze previously reported, the family decided to sue the Acton-Boxborough school system, claiming that the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance with the words “under God” discriminates against their children. The parents, who wish to remain anonymous, are identified only as John and Jane Doe. They have three children in the district — one in high school and two others in middle school.

In Middlesex Superior Court earlier this year, David Niosie, the family’s lawyer asked that the words be taken out of the expression of loyalty to America. Now, the atheist and humanist community is already reacting with fervor to the family’s loss. In the press release, the AHA railed against the court’s decision and stated plans to continue fighting the matter. The official decision can be read here.